Shloka 90
सप्तद्वीप-समुद्र-प्रमाणम्: प्लक्षादि-द्वीपवर्णनं, लोकालोक-सीमा, चन्द्र-समुद्र-वृद्धिक्षयः
अन्यूनानतिरिक्ताश् च वर्धन्त्य् आपो ह्रसन्ति च उदयास्तमयेष्व् इन्दोः पक्षयोः शुक्लकृष्णयोः
anyūnānatiriktāś ca vardhanty āpo hrasanti ca udayāstamayeṣv indoḥ pakṣayoḥ śuklakṛṣṇayoḥ
In the Moon’s bright and dark fortnights, at its risings and settings, the waters—neither falling short nor exceeding their ordained measure—alternately swell and subside.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How tidal rise and fall can occur without violating the fixed measure of the oceans
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: precise and reconciliatory
Cosmic Hierarchy: Lokas
Concept: Even when phenomena rise and fall, they do so within ordained limits—change is real, yet bounded by sustaining order.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Let life’s fluctuations occur without excess: keep vows, habits, and emotions within dharmic measure.
Vishishtadvaita: Qualified non-dualism accommodates real worldly transformations (pariṇāma-like change in modes) while affirming an underlying divine governance (antaryāmin) that preserves order.
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman (philosophical)
Bhakti Type: Shanta (peaceful)
Antaryamin: Yes
FAQs
This verse presents the lunar fortnights as a governing rhythm of nature: the waxing and waning moon corresponds to the measured increase and decrease of waters, illustrating an orderly cosmos rather than random fluctuation.
Parāśara frames it as lawful and proportionate (“neither deficient nor excessive”), tied to the Moon’s rising and setting across the two pakṣas—showing nature operating under a stable cosmic rule.
Even when Vishnu is not named, the Purāṇic cosmology implies a supreme sustaining intelligence behind consistent natural cycles—an expression of Vishnu as the maintainer of order (dharma/ṛta) in the universe.